Like many of you, 2020 has been an unforgettable year for the British Embassy team in Chile. First, the COVID pandemic hit us quickly and severely tested our resilience. We had 3,000 British tourists stranded in Chile and another 1,000 stranded on cruise ships. With flights suspended and cruise ships initially banned from disembarking passengers, it was a major logistical task to get all those passengers safely home and to look after those tourists who became ill.

The Embassy entered crisis mode in March and as well as repatriating thousands of British tourists, we had to rapidly find new ways of working to ensure everyone’s safety, including Embassy staff. Luckily, we benefitted from some excellent IT and laptops that had been rolled out across the Foreign Office network just a few months earlier.

Once we had repatriated the stranded tourists, including on a special charter flight, we began to look at ways in which we could collaborate with Chile in order to fight COVID-19. The Embassy launched a number of projects to help Chile tackle the pandemic locally, for example, a pilot project between Universities in the UK and Chile to investigate ways in which copper could be used to kill the virus on surfaces. Another example included working with a local NGO to help provide support to the homeless.

Later in 2020, the UK and Chile worked together with the World Health Organisation to ensure equitable access to vaccines for the world’s poorest countries, by agreeing a new financing mechanise – COVAX. More recently, Chile is playing its part in helping to develop a vaccine by permitting AstraZeneca/Oxford to carry out Phase 3 clinical trials in Chile. Yesterday we woke up to the good news that the vaccine has been approved for use in the UK.

At the same time, the Embassy team has also been preparing for the UK’s exit from the EU, negotiating a continuity trade agreement that will guarantee that British and Chilean companies continue to enjoy the same access to each other’s markets.

Finally, we have been working closely with Chile on climate change. Chile is the current President of COP25, the climate change summit, and will hand over that responsibility to the UK for COP26 in Glasgow, 2021. It has been great to work with Chile in the run-up to Glasgow, by collaborating on green finance, hydrogen, renewable energies and commitments to cut carbon emissions. As well as playing a leading role on tackling climate change in Latin America, Chile shares our ambition to secure positive outcomes at COP26 that make a tangible difference on climate change.

So it’s been a very busy and challenging year, which is why I’d like to salute the British Embassy Team for all their hard work and commitment. Let’s hope that 2021 is a better year for us all.

Further information

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Yesterday, we conducted the latest formal review of tier allocations across England. The allocations and a detailed rationale can be found below.

The new variant means that most of the country is now in Tier 4 and almost all of the country in Tiers 3 and 4. This is absolutely necessary. Where we still can give places greater freedoms, we will continue to do so.

As set out in the COVID-19 Winter Plan, there are 5 indicators which guide our decisions for any given area, alongside consideration of ‘human geographies’ like travel patterns.

These are:

• case detection rates in all age groups
• case detection rates in the over 60s
• the rate at which cases are rising or falling
• positivity rate (the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken)
• pressure on the NHS

These are not easy decisions, but they have been made according to the best clinical advice, and the best possible data from the JBC.

The regulations will require the government to review the allocations at least every 14 days. We will also take urgent action when the data suggests it is required.

We will also deposit a comprehensive list and the data packs used to inform these decisions in the Libraries of both Houses.

These changes will apply from Thursday 31 December 2020. This list has also been published on GOV.UK and a postcode checker will be available for the public to check what rules apply in their local area.

Overview

A novel variant of SARS-CoV-2 is circulating in England. The strain shows increased transmissibility. There is currently no evidence that the variant is more likely to cause severe disease or mortality, but investigations continue. The majority of the cases identified in London, the South East and the East of England are of the novel strain. Spread is increasing in the South West, Midlands and parts of the North West.

The evidence shows that infection rates in geographical areas where this particular variant has been circulating have increased faster than expected, and the modelling evidence has demonstrated that this variant has a higher transmission rate than other variants in current circulation. Speed of case rate growth is closely correlated with presence of the new variant.

Areas already under Tier 4 restrictions

London

In London the case rate in all ages and in people aged 60 and over continues to increase across all local authorities.

The weekly case rate in London is the highest of the nine regions of England at 814 per 100,000 and increased by 53% in the last week. The case rate in people aged 60 and over also increased by 71% over the last week and is now 551 per 100,000.

There is some variation across local authorities in London, with the lowest case rate in Kensington and Chelsea (524 per 100,000) and the highest in Havering (1290 per 100,000). Five local authorities now have case rates greater than 1000 per 100,000 (Havering, Redbridge, Bexley, Barking and Dagenham and Tower Hamlets). Across the London NHS Sustainability and Transformation Partnership areas (STPs) (South West London STP, South East London STP, North East London STP, North Central London STP, and North West London STP), the daily COVID bed occupancy is above the national average and continues to rise.

The proportion of critical care beds or beds with mechanical ventilation occupied by COVID patients remains high and continues to rise. South East London STP is experiencing the highest current COVID growth rate in London, with pressure remaining particularly acute for North East London STP (though growth rates have reduced since prior week). Overall, the picture remains very concerning and warrants London remaining in Tier 4.

East of England

In the East of England, the picture has continued to deteriorate, with a significant increase in case rates in all ages (up by 52% to 581 per 100,000 per week) and in people aged 60 and over (up by 62% to 326 per 100,000 per week). The region has the second highest case rates of the 9 regions and case rates are continuing to increase across all local authorities. There are 10 local authorities with case rates greater than 1000 per 100,000 (Brentwood, Epping Forest, Thurrock, Castle Point, Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Broxbourne and Rochford.

Across the region case rates range from 182 per 100,000 in East Suffolk to 1510 per 100,000 in Brentwood. Across the East of England NHS STPs (Norfolk and Waveney STP, Cambridge and Peterborough STP, Hertfordshire and West Essex STP, Mid and South Essex STP, Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes STP and Suffolk and North East Essex STP), the number of daily COVID hospital admissions is rising, with Hertfordshire and West Essex STP and Mid and South Essex STP in a critical position.

The daily COVID bed occupancy has now risen to, or above, the national acute hospital average (apart from Cambridge and Peterborough STP which is still below national average) and continues to rise. The proportion of critical care beds or beds with mechanical ventilation occupied by COVID patients has risen sharply. The COVID demand on local NHS hospitals remains high, and has been increasing steeply and shows fewsigns of reducing.

For the 2 critical STPs (Hertfordshire and West Essex STP and Mid and South Essex STP), the daily COVID bed occupancy is at critical levels, has risen well above the national acute hospital average in the last 7 days and continues to rise steeply. Overall, the picture remains very concerning and warrants all areas of the East of England remaining in Tier 4.

South East

The South East has the third highest case rate of the 9 regions of England; and the situation has continued to deteriorate across the majority of the region. Case rates have continued to increase in all ages (up by 36% to 476 per 100,000 per week) and in people aged 60 and over (up by 40% to 294 per 100,000 per week). Seven local authorities have seen case rates increase by over 100% in the last week (Eastleigh, Chichester, Worthing, Southampton, Adur, Horsham and Windsor and Maidenhead). Across the South East NHS STPs (Hampshire and Isle of Wight STP, Sussex STP, Frimley STP, Buckinghamshire STP, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West STP, Kent and Medway STP, Surrey Heartlands STP) the number of daily COVID hospital admissions and bed occupancy continue to rise.

In Kent and Medway STP the daily COVID bed occupancy is above the national acute hospital average and continues to rise, with the proportion of critical care beds or beds with mechanical ventilation occupied by COVID patients remaining high and has shown no signs of reducing in the last 10 days. In Surrey Heartlands STP additional ICU capacity in Ashford and St Peters has been opened and support has been provided to the Kent system. Overall, the picture remains very concerning and warrants the South East remaining in Tier 4.

Only areas which are being escalated to a higher Tier appear in the tables below.

South West

South East

East Midlands

West Midlands

North West

North East

Yorkshire and the Humber

• Everybody who needs a test is still able to get one, despite huge increase in demand
• Contact tracers are successfully contacting more people than ever before

NHS Test and Trace is reaching significantly more people as cases continue to rise across the country. More than 550,000 cases and contacts were successfully reached and told to isolate in the week before Christmas, many of whom might otherwise have gone on to unknowingly spread the virus to their loved ones over the festive period.

In a week when the number of positive cases transferred to the contact-tracing system increased by 52% compared with the previous week, contact tracers have redoubled their efforts to ensure that the great majority of cases and contacts continue to be reached.

For the week of 17 to 23 December, 181,910 people who tested positive were successfully reached – 58,398 more than the previous week and 85.8% of the total number of cases. Over the same week, 377,459 close contacts of people who tested positive were successfully reached – 110,801 more than the previous week and 92.6% of all close contacts identified.

Not only are more cases being reached, but they’re being reached more quickly too, with 80.2% reached within 24 hours, compared with 77.1% the previous week.

These improvements have been brought about by operational changes such as improving the contact-tracing website, introducing more effective systems for contacting members of the same household, and further increases to the number of local authority tracing partnerships.

Due to growing demand over the holiday period, and the emergence of a new and more transmissible strain of coronavirus, the service has prioritised making more tests available so that anyone who needs a test can get one. Nearly 2.4 million people were tested at least once during the reporting week, with labs processing ever greater numbers of tests. This increased demand and supply has resulted in a temporary dip in turnaround times, but tests are available for anyone who needs one.

NHS Test and Trace remained open every day over Christmas and will continue to do so over New Year, providing and processing tests for those who need them and tracing contacts of positive cases.

NHS Test and Trace’s vastly expanded test site network now has more than 700 test sites, including 400 local test sites, in operation. The median distance travelled for a test increased slightly due to the high demand in some areas, but remained low, at just 2.8 miles, compared with 5.1 miles as recently as September. More than 50 million tests have been processed in the UK in total since testing began, more than any other comparable European country.

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

The improvements we’ve made to the contact-tracing process over the past months are really bearing fruit now, with record numbers of people being successfully contacted by the service. It’s important to remember that every single successful call our contact tracers make is another person prevented from the risk of unknowingly spreading this awful virus to the people around them.

As we enter the new year, I would urge the public to heed our advice on ‘Hands. Face. Space’, and not to hesitate to book a test if they have coronavirus symptoms.

I would like to thank everyone who has been working so hard over the festive period to keep NHS Test and Trace running, processing huge numbers of tests, ensuring that anyone who needs a test can get one, and reaching the great majority of people who test positive and their contacts to help ensure they self-isolate.

Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection Baroness Dido Harding said:

Despite record numbers of people using NHS Test and Trace, we are successfully reaching record numbers of people who have tested positive and their contacts.

Turnaround times have temporarily increased over the festive period as we deal with huge increases in demand, but we continue to make tests available to anybody who needs one, while our labs are processing ever greater numbers of tests.

I am hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of the NHS Test and Trace team and our partners over this challenging festive period.

The NHS COVID-19 app was the second most downloaded free iPhone app on its App Store in the UK this year and has been downloaded more than 20.9 million times.

Testing

During the week of 17 to 23 December, 2,398,512 people were tested under pillars 1 and 2 in England.

More than 50 million tests have been processed in the UK in total since testing began, more than any other comparable European country.

For this reporting period, 45% of in-person test results were received the next day after the test was taken, compared with 61% reported in the previous week. 93% of pillar 1 test results were made available within 24 hours, consistent with the previous week.

The NHS Test and Trace laboratory network will also be processing samples as normal with the same level of capacity, including on bank holidays, to ensure continuity of service. Testing capacity for those with COVID-19 symptoms has increased 7-fold in 8 months, from 100,000 a day at the end of April to more than 700,000 a day.

Tracing

211,914 positive cases were transferred to contact tracers between 17 December and 23 December, an increase of 52% on the previous week (139,332). 85.8% of cases were reached and told to self-isolate, compared with 88.6% the previous week.

Between 17 December and 23 December, 407,603 people were identified as recent close contacts (up from 287,756 the previous week), with 96.4% for whom communication details were provided reached and told to self-isolate, which was consistent with the previous week, despite the increase in cases transferred.

Since NHS Test and Trace launched, 84.7% of close contacts for whom contact details were provided have been reached.

Over the past few months our teams have been working incredibly hard to make the contact-tracing service as effective as possible and NHS Test and Trace has now reached more than 4 million people.

Background information

The statistics from week 30 of NHS Test and Trace show in the most recent week of operations (17 December to 23 December):

• a total of 2,907,074 tests were conducted for pillars 1 and 2 in the UK, compared with 2,293,012 the previous week
• the proportion of contacts reached by tracing service remains consistent at 92.6%
• 85.8% of people who tested positive and were transferred to the contact-tracing system were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts, compared with 88.6% the previous week
• 96.4% of contacts where communication details were given were reached and told to self-isolate, compared with 96.5% the previous week
• 45.0% of in-person test results were received the next day after the test was taken, compared with 61.0% of tests the previous week (England only)
• 93.0% of pillar 1 test results were made available within 24 hours, compared with 93.9% the previous week
• 16.9% (176,581) of in-person test results were received within 24 hours after the test was taken, compared with 34.1% (247,767) the previous week
• 66.7% (461,730) of satellite (care home) tests were received within 3 days, compared with 91.1% (518,561) the previous week
• since NHS Test and Trace launched, over 2.9 million contacts have been identified, and 84.7% of all contacts where communication details were given have been reached and told to self-isolate

NHS COVID-19 app users in England, who have been instructed to self- isolate via the app, will be able to claim the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment, providing they meet the eligibility criteria.